Oscar randall: a tale of nobility and duty - Chapter 0
Chapter 1: A Twist of Fate
Oscar Randall was born as the third son of a viscount. Normally, the eldest son inherited the house, the second son became the spare for his older brother, and the younger sons were considered surplus to requirements. Oscar accepted this as his fate and expected to be granted a single-generation knighthood, leaving his descendants as commoners.
He dutifully attended the Imperial Academy for three years as befitting a noble, but his grades were mediocre and he had no ambition to enter the elite ranks of the nation’s civil service or brave the cutthroat world of commerce. By elimination, his only future seemed to be joining the military.
For noblemen with a military or high-ranking lineage, there were more glamorous options as generals in the heart of the military, government bureaucrats involved in politics, or even as prestigious Imperial Guards. Even barons or viscounts could hope for lieutenant colonel or even general ranks. Even if major general or lieutenant general were out of reach, brigadier general or major general were within the realm of possibility.
But what about the third son of a viscount?
“Oi, Oscar. Letter for you.”
Taylor, the quartermaster, called out as I took a breather at the mess table.
“Oh, thanks. Where’s it from?”
“Wow, so refined, ‘thank you’ and all. A regular knight, aren’t we?”
“Go on, make fun. I may be on the bottom rung of the nobility, but I’m still a noble in name if not in status. In fact, my chances of marrying are so slim that I start to cry when I think about it.”
The mess hall erupted in laughter at my exaggerated whining.
This was one of the barracks of the Imperial Guard. The company was a lively mix of noblemen and commoners with similar backgrounds, living together without any fuss. I couldn’t be bothered to go back to my room, so I opened the letter from home right there.
“Hmm, it says that my second brother is getting married and wants me to come and meet his fiancée.”
“Oh, that’s great news. So, are you going home? When do you leave? If you need to apply for leave, you can do it here. I’m a real softie, you know.”
Taylor sat down next to me, his words laced with a hint of sarcasm.
“Apparently, the fiancée is visiting the capital. My father and the others will come here when I’m on leave, so I need to let them know when that will be and arrange accommodation for them.”
Sadly, as a viscount from the provinces, our family could not afford the luxury of a separate residence in the capital, where land and property prices were sky-high. This time, since it was for a meeting with our future in-laws, we had to put on airs as nobles, at least with the hotel. I guessed they were using the excuse of my leave to keep the stay short and save money.
I wondered who the fiancée could be. the fact they were were were were were were were were were were were were were were were were were making the effort to come the capital suggesteded they were were were either a maj or merchant with a head office theor a noble family from outside the kingdom who worked in the royal palace.
There was a time when I would have thought that.
Let me start with the conclusion. She was the only daughter of a marquis family with a huge mansion in the noble district of the capital.
What’s more, my brother was going to marry into the marquis family as an adopted son-in-law. What kind of Cinderella story was this? Wasn’t it normal for the only daughter of a marquis to marry into a duke’s family or even the royal family?
My brother explained the situation as follows:
The young lady in question had been engaged to someone since childhood, which was apparently common among high-ranking nobles. However, her fiancé had died of illness.
At that time, all the eligible bachelors of suitable rank and age were already engaged. The family decided to expand their search to include the heads or heirs of mid-ranking noble families, with the aim of the young lady becoming their mistress and the marquis family adopting an heir to succeed them. However, that proved to be easier said than done.
Finding a suitable candidate for adoption was proving to be extremely difficult. There was no one suitable among their close relatives, and there were too many distant relatives, leading to a scramble for the inheritance. Fortunately, no one was killed, but there were a number of injuries, and it nearly escalated into a major incident.
All the adoption candidates were disqualified, and it was the young lady herself who suggested looking for an adopted son-in-law from a provincial noble family with no previous connections.
As it turned out, my brother and the young lady had known each other since their academy days and had secretly harbored feelings for each other, but due to their different statuses and the constraints of society, their relationship had never progressed beyond friendship.
Apparently, the young lady had declared with a beaming smile, “I’m so happy that I can marry for love.” This had swayed the marquis and his wife.
Incidentally, my brother had been serving as the assistant to the eldest brother, who was the next head of the viscount family, but since the eldest brother had a legitimate son, he was no longer needed. He had married into the marquis family without any worries.
As the brother-in-law of the marquis and his wife, I too benefited from the windfall. I was unexpectedly married into a baron family.
It was an unbelievable stroke of luck for an ordinary knight with no special skills or talents to acquire a title of nobility.
The baron’s daughter was not beautiful, but she was cute, and unlike me, she had the strength to manage the territory.
I, the useless one, was still just waving a sword in the military, but thanks to my title boost, I was promoted to captain and even had a daughter. Yes, everything should have been smooth sailing.
Really, the world of the nobility was full of strange and wonderful things. Why I ended up being saddled with such hardships is a tale that I will now tell.